This year, with a slate of relatively commercial films vying for best picture and a broadcast date which happily coincides with many of the films still in theaters, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television is smiling about the Genies.

‘We really don’t have any say on the choice of nominees and their releases or the timing of the show,’ says Maria Topalovich, acct executive director, ‘but when it all coincides the way it does this year, it falls into place nicely.’

In the past, nailing down a broadcast date has often been complicated by trying to arrange a French/English simulcast on Radio-Canada and cbc, and by trying to focus on a Sunday night. This year, the on-air portion of the show has been paired down to one hour for cbc only and the whole shebang happens mid-week, on Wednesday, Nov. 27 to be exact.

‘We wanted to stage it earlier,’ says Topalovich, ‘and cbc also felt the show would fare a lot better earlier in the fall. The broadcaster has been understanding – when we start to unroll the whole promotional train, we want that to coincide with when the films are still playing. Marketing is critical, and we want to create the most viable opportunity to have the public view these films and celebrate with us.’

The plan for this year’s event also keeps in mind that the Genies are essentially an industry event. Part of that mind set has been manifested with a change of venue. The Academy thought the environment of The Guvernment, a large Toronto club, is more reflective of the film community than a traditional auditorium.

In broadcast terms, the on-air show has been structured to encompass the awards deemed of most interest to the general public – categories like performance and best picture.

‘We’ll be live for the final hour of the two-hour awards show,’ says Topalovich. ‘Although we’ll be including the awards which are high-profile for the general public, the other awards will be integrated into the show very seriously as prepackaged clips. The crafts are critical to the industry, but not for a tv audience.’

While there’s no doubt that having films like David Cronenberg’s Crash and Bruce McDonald’s Hard Core Logo in the running can help boost an audience for the Genies, the question of whether the Genies boost the films themselves – in terms of drawing box office – is less clear.

For the last two years, Alliance has been the distributor behind the best picture winners – Robert Lepage’s Le Confessionnal in 1995 and Atom Egoyan’s Exotica in 1994.

‘Frankly, it’s difficult to tell if it has any effect at the box office,’ says Tony Cianciotta, vp of Alliance Releasing. ‘It’s like comparing apples and oranges. Exotica was extremely successful, but on the other hand, Le Confessionnal was not successful at the English box office.’

Cianciotta says the reasons for the differences in performance include the fact that Lepage was a first-time director, Exotica’s title piqued curiosity, and, obviously, the language barrier for French films in English Canada. He is sure that the Genies’ impact wasn’t negative.

‘When you can advertise that a film was a winner of anything, it helps,’ he says. ‘I’m not sure if the Palm d’Or means anything in Winnipeg, but audiences pay attention to an ad that says `Winner of’ ‘

Camelia Frieberg, producer of Exotica, says a Genie win helps establish credibility within the industry. ‘I don’t know if the awards are tied to the public, whether it influences them on which film to go see, but it’s important that we recognize each other. We’re talking about a well-deserved pat on the back.’

The story was somewhat different for Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould, winner of best picture in 1993. Producer Niv Fichman from Rhombus believes the structure and the timing of the Genies that year did help draw audiences for the film.

‘I don’t know if it had any impact in English Canada, but that year the awards were in Montreal and it did have an impact in French Canada. Francois Girard was the local boy wonder and it was broadcast all in French on Radio-Canada, plus the awards happened early in the run. Quebec audiences are more accustomed to following film directors. English Canada is only achieving that now.’

Topalovich says she does see the Genies as a boost to marketing and promotional campaigns if the timing’s right, but cautions that the event is, first and foremost, an industry exercise. ‘The pictures this year have had the benefit of sophisticated campaigns to help launch them. Money is being spent and it’s being treated very much like a viable business. We’re looking to assist and celebrate the movies and the people who have made them.’